LGUSD board is exploring solutions to many problems
Bond measure is a possibility
By Leigh Ann Maze
With bathrooms in dire need of repair, walls in need of fresh paint and classrooms filled to capacity, the Los Gatos Union School District recognizes that something needs to be done--soon.
On April 4, the LGUSD board unanimously passed a motion to create a facilities master plan for the district in order to define their facilities needs and lay out long-range goals.
According to LGUSD superintendent Mary Ann Park, the district responded to overcrowding by adding portables to school grounds and playfields. "The master plan will make us stop, take a good look and get an overall picture of what we need to do rather that taking the piecemeal approach," Park said.
The LGUSD will pay architects from HMC an estimated $127,000 to complete the master plan by November. It will help the district recognize what its needs, goals and costs will be as it works to modernize and expand the district's aging facilities. The community will be invited to help develop the master plan.
The master plan is tightly connected to the modernization plans that are on hold for the LGUSD schools.
Originally, the board planned to use $6 million from the state and $5 million from the sale of the Berry School and the Shannon Road property to upgrade plumbing and electrical outlets and to comply with Americans With Disabilities Act laws at all five LGUSD schools.
Plans for the modernization of Van Meter School and Fisher Middle School were to be submitted to the Department of the State Architect in April or May 2000. But, the board was surprised in March to learn that the $6 million in state money it planned on receiving had already been handed out to other schools and was no longer available.
The schools that received the limited state funds did so because they already had plans approved by the state architect and were able to "get in line" for the money.
In order for the LGUSD to "get in line" for the now nonexistent state funds, it would need to spend $450,000 to $500,000 on architectural plans for all five schools.
"I certainly wish we had been in line," Park said, adding that there is still a chance that money will become available from the state again. "It's a very political process." One option the LGUSD has now is to wait and see if the state comes up with more modernization funds. "That way we're not putting out $450,000 to $500,000 without a guarantee of money in the pot," Park said.
Should the state not supply the money, several alternative funding sources are being considered by the board.
One source of funding being discussed is a bond measure. A school-bond measure is voted on by the electorate living within the school district. If it passes with two thirds of the votes, property owners within the district pay a tax on the assessed value of their property.
If the board decides on this route, a bond would be presented to local voters next spring. The master plan would be critical should the board decide to hold a bond election, because the LGUSD will have to put a package together to present to the voters, according to LGUSD board member Tom O'Donnell.
The master plan will prove valuable to the district even if board members decide against a bond measure, according to Linda Latasa, assistant superintendent/business. "It will provide a good, strong guideline for the district as to what issues need to be addressed," Latasa said.
A decision on how to proceed with facilities modernization and expansion will need to be made by December if the LGUSD board plans to pursue a bond election, Park said.
A LGUSD board workshop is scheduled for April 24, for the LGUSD board and any members of the public to discuss LGUSD facilities, Park said.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
